D+B Kids Go to Camp

It is incredibly rewarding to be part of an architecture firm with 70+ year old roots in the community in which it was founded. We’ve been fortunate to work on many landmark buildings, the latest being the Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC) which brought life back to an almost forgotten 109-year-old historic power station.

State-of-the-art technology once again occupies the building with all things Science, Technology, Education, Art and Math (STEAM) learning. A space formerly humming with the sound of power generation is now buzzing with the little voices of excited children.

My six-year-old son, Austin, recently attended MOSAC’s Camp Curiosity which is made up of five different week-long camps with separate focuses:

• Dream it. Build it – Engineering with an emphasis on art

• Earth’s SuperPOWERS – Exploring how to harness the superpowers of the earth and sun to make a difference for our planet

• Science Everywhere! –Investigate the laws of physics, chemistry, explore rocks, fossils and even bugs!

• Naturally Curious – Get to know our animal neighbors and understand their habitats.

• 3,2,1 Blast Off! – Explore the galaxy, gravity and launch a rocket into the sky.

Austin attended “Dream It, Build It,” where he created art with a focus on engineering. He worked with new friends to design robots, build skyscrapers bigger than giraffes (his words), make houses out of straws, and explore the solar system in the planetarium. As one might guess, flying through space watching the biggest screen he’s ever seen was mind blowing for a six-year-old’s brain. He loved it so much, he requested a planetarium screen for his bedroom. When we told him that wasn’t really possible, he replied, “Okay, I guess I’ll just have to ask Santa then.”

This is some of the art he created during the week:

Everyday was a new adventure and full of activities that excited the imagination and made science fun. As parents, we are looking forward to the building being fully open and having a world class science center right here in Sacramento. Austin is excited to give us a tour. As he said, “I know my way around pretty well, so I’ll show you all the cool spots.”

We take pride in designing people-focused spaces. Watching reactions to people enjoying their new space is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. It’s extra special and extra rewarding when those people enjoying the spaces are kids.